Those Small, in-between Moments
by cursedgirls13
Summary: "When Finn had first laid eyes on him, it felt like something had clicked. It was a strange feeling."
1. Disney after Dark

**Hey, guys! Yeah, so I'm currently reading the series. And you know what's a pain? I was at the fifth book, when I suddenly stopped and then I forgot everything, so I had to start from first book. Why the heck did I do that? So I created this to keep me going. **

**I ship Finn and Philby, problem? - Makoto**

**Disclaimer**** : I DO NOT own Kingdom Keepers, so that means I DO NOT own anything in this story.**

**Warning**** : There are hints of Finn x Philby A.K.A. boy x boy, so if you don't like any of this stuff, please get out. Now.**

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><p><strong><em>Disney after Dark<em> :**

When Finn had first laid eyes on him, it felt like something had clicked. It was a strange feeling. But a warm feeling.

Philby looked like a friendly person―bright auburn hair and warm chocolate eyes. And that accent made the redhead exotic; Finn guessed that Philby was either from Australia or New Zealand. He was also slightly taller than the brunette by, like, an inch.

When they first talked, the redhead had directed a gentle smile towards Finn and the shorter boy felt a quick spark of heat in his cheeks. Only for a second, though. Just a second.

* * *

><p>Being a DHI is risky. Very risky. Finn tries not to think about the scab on his upper arm created by animatronics (that could talk and move and give orders), as he helps Philby into the boat.<p>

Wayne had been pretty straightforward about the poem, and that they needed to find the "Stonecutter's Quill" and Walt's plans before the "Overtakers" do. Or it could mean more than just laser burns.

All in all, Finn really doesn't trust It's a Small World, but...a clue could be here, and getting closer to the answer is worth the risk. Hopefully.

For some reason, he feels a little better that Philby is the one sitting next to him. Now that Finn knows the redhead better, he comes off as that one guy who is, basically, a walking encyclopedia.

By Philby's scrunched up nose, as the ride starts, he doesn't trust this one bit either. Finn doesn't need eyes on the back of his head to know that Willa, Maybeck and Charlene aren't exactly on board with this, either. That makes everybody. Should he be worried? Or really worried?

Okay, really worried was the answer. Five minutes later, Finn stands up, with all the others, to fend off flesh-eating dolls (judging by the bloody bite mark on his arm and on Philby's calf).

Then the brunette realizes.

Wait―sun. They're looking for the sun… Sunshine represents happiness and―

'_And a smile means friendship to ev'ryone_―'

"Smile!" Finn yells over the frantic splashing of water and the rapidly beating hearts of all five kids.

"Why?!" someone cries.

"Just try it!" he hollers back. So there they are, smiling like idiots at these dolls whose bites can rival one of a pack of piranhas. Eventually, the "friendship" reaches them, and all of the dolls are either floating faceown or up in the water.

No one is going to be riding It's a Small World in a very long while, Finn thinks as all five of them get off the ride, tired and injured (physically and mentally). He feels bad when he sees Philby limping slightly (good god, it looks like a chore to walk), wincing from the deep cut on his leg.

* * *

><p>Climbing into the waterway on Splash Mountain makes Finn shiver slightly. The temperature is cold, and he doesn't appreciate getting wet. Especially when he's going to wake up in his bed.<p>

But this is is for a clue; clouds. It's part of the stonecutter's fable.

Philby grins slightly. He can tell that the brunette is uncomfortable.

As they walk through Splash Mountain, Finn feels a bit chilly. And it's not from the water. He doesn't mention it to the redhead trudging ahead of himself.

When they reach a second tunnel, the current is definitely stronger and a lot more treacherous.

Philby's voice is soft. "I think we ought to float." Finn has to lean in to hear the other's words.

"What?"

"Float," the redhead repeats. He lowers himself onto the water, leaning back. The current quickly carries him away, and Finn follows suit. The steel rail is helpful, despite it being for the ride's boats.

"I've taken this ride a zillion times," Philby says, "but this is pretty cool."

Finn agrees, despite not loving the feeling of the coldness of the water seeping into his skin. Although it is…

"Kinda creepy," Finn remarks as he looks at the Audio-Animatronic figures, frozen in mid-gesture. Okay, the current is calm and the brunette is officially done with animatronics coming to life, so he grabs onto the rail and stands up in the water.

Suddenly, water is splashed into his face, making his soaked chocolate locks get plastered to his eyelids. Warm arms wrap around his waist.

"You can't do that!" Philby's own drenched auburn locks are almost the same shade as Finn's, and the redhead's wide chocolate eyes startle the other boy. "If we climb out, we'll trip the alarm."

"What alarm?" Finn asks flatly, tired and doused to the bone. Philby answers with infrared sensors that are never shut down and photographs.

"It's pitch-black!" the brunette retorts, actually feeling thankful that the redhead is unintentionally sharing body heat with him.

"But we're not," Philby shoots back, indicating to the soft blue light surrounding them both. He emphasizes that they _will _be photographed, and they _will _be busted if so. Finn sighs, slightly annoyed at the high security.

"How do you know any of this stuff?"

"Can you spell _Google_?"

"And you waited until _now _to tell me this?" The brunette doesn't even try to hide his irritated tone. Philby releases his hold on Finn's waist, scowling.

"I wasn't going to write you a report," he snaps back tetchily. Great. Now they're both in a bad mood.

But as they go on back to floating, Finn's worry overrides his bad mood. The deeper they go, the more twists and turns there were.

"If I remember right, we're going into a small-drop." Philby's voice sounds light as if they didn't just bicker, and the other boy is glad that the taller boy didn't let his sour mood affect him too much.

As his head goes underwater, soaking him completely (yet again), Finn hears grinding. Something mechanical…

Huh.

"Did you hear that?" he asks Philby, reaching the surface.

"The ride's turned on." His voice is laced with concern. "That means the log cars are moving."

Yet another drop. Yet another tunnel approaching.

Finn expresses his troubled feelings about this situation. "I don't like this!" He sees the characters moving, each looking like they could jump out at you at any second with their bulging eyes and long noses.

"We've got to hang in there!" Philby encourages. He tells Finn that they're about halfway complete and a log car shouldn't arrive for another six minutes. The brunette doesn't feel better, but it's good to know this stuff.

"Clouds!" Both put on a pair of 3-D glasses, but nothing. Perfectly normal, innocent-looking clouds. Finn feels his chest tighten and expresses more of his uncomfortableness. He even splashes at a mechanical rabbit in fright.

"More clouds!" Still nothing! Finn shivers. Not good. Definitely not good! He hopes this trip isn't an absolute waste of time. His shoulder smashes against the rail and he winces in pain. Philby tells him to keep his glasses on, and to keep his eyes peeled for more clouds.

Then Finn hears it. The log cars are approaching. He urges himself to keep going.

Oh. He just remembered. There's that really _big _drop, and he and Philby need to roll over onto their stomachs and paddle, but to no avail.

"If we―could get―into a log―" Was that possible?

Soon, the first log appears and Finn figures out that their state of mind is all wrong. Holograms. They're half-light!

"I don't think this is the best time to discuss physics," he hears Philby say, out of breath. Finn knows that he's not going to last much longer, so he demonstrates, using half the effort while swimming past the redhead.

Philby ends up getting sucked down the final plummet, and the brunette panics.

The redhead feels his hand smash against the rough surface behind the strong stream of water, and lets out a silent cry, almost all of the air left in his lungs released, several air bubbles floating to the surface. What was up and what was down? He couldn't tell.

That is, until a hand plunges into the water, then an arm. Finn's arm.

The brunette is in the log car, leaning over. Both boys lock hands and, with surprising ease, the shorter boy pulls the Philby up into safety.

The redhead notices bloody water on the top of his left hand and wrist as he sits up in the log car.

They reach the last scene, finally, putting on their glasses.

And there it is: **F M E**.

Without the glasses, the letters disappear. Finn turns around, looking at a breathless and swamped Philby.

"Our first clue!" he whispers excitedly. The redhead smiles tiredly in return, hiding his badly injured left hand in his lap.

* * *

><p>"You don't look so hot," Finn says, observing Philby's pallid skin and the light bags that reside underneath his tired chocolate eyes. The redhead frowns slightly.<p>

"Have you tried a mirror?" Touché.

"Another brownout?"

"I assume so."

"We're early," the brunette remarks. Philby's lips purse.

"Yeah, but if we're here, chances are, the girls are too. We should check the apartment and the teepee." Finn doesn't meet the chocolate eyes across from himself.

"But let's do it together." But he does see that quick flash of pink streak across the redhead's cheeks.

"Maybeck?" Philby asks. Finn nods.

"I went to his house. He's asleep in bed and they can't wake him up. Tomorrow morning they're going to take him to the hospital and start running tests. We've got to find him before that." The brunette's nervous green eyes catch calm chocolate ones. "Who knows what they'd do to him?"

"Maybeck was caught." Philby continues to look at Finn. "And it wasn't security. It was the Overtakers. It has to be. Wayne said Maybeck's our computer guy. We know he's been poking around. The Overtakers don't want him messing with the DHI server. The brownouts―our feeling lousy like this. That's the server doing that." His nose scrunches up. "The Overtakers are trying to―"

"Kill us?" Finn doesn't dare break eye contact with the redhead.

"Slow us down. Scare us away." His chocolate eyes spark. But both know that the brunette is right.

"Then I'd say it's working."

"So where do we start?" Finn smiles.

"Follow me."

_- Disney After Dark -_

The brunette watches as Philby skillfully and silently climbs up to the brim of the roof using the rope, and wonders if the taller has a lot of climbing experience.

They had went to Wayne, and, after a few hints and guesses, had figured out that Maybeck is probably being kept in Space Mountain. It's perfect to hold a hostage―pitch-black and really loud.

Soon, the boys find themselves in the ride itself; inside the pointy-hat part of the domed ceiling, a gigantic space that contained the entire Space Mountain roller coaster track.

"This is crazy," Philby whispers from behind Finn. "The place is _huge_. Maybeck could be anywhere."

"I'm not so sure about that." His eyes are already adjusted to the pitch-black atmosphere. "Agreed, it's huge, but look around. Where are you going to hide him?" Finn realizes that he can see his hand. "Hey!"

"Yeah, I know." But Philby demonstrates how weak the DHI projection is by passing his arm through a metal bar, breaking up the imaging. The boys decide on who searches where and if _anything_ goes wrong (because a lot can happen), they will meet up at the apartment.

But apparently that's not the case, because Finn finds Maybeck ten minutes later.

"Philby!" the brunette whisper-shouts, but he ends up walking straight through the canvas alone. Then Maybeck needs a pep talk about attitude before he can walk through the canvas to freedom.

A frown graces Finn's features when the other boy explains that Jez was the one that he had met, the one that he ditched Willa and Charlene for. His interest is peaked when Maybeck mentions that "I was so _cold_" and "I could barely move".

The brunette almost smiles, but doesn't.

_Been there, done that._

* * *

><p>"The letters we're missing could be anywhere," Finn says as he and Philby stand at the entrance to Thunder Mountain. "On any <em>stone<em>, any rock." The redhead shrugs nonchalantly.

"You got it."

This place _is _a rock.

And walking on the roller coaster track is a chore. Finn hopes that Philby won't trip or something; he could probably catch the redhead, but he really doesn't want to test his speed or strength in this position. But he has a feeling he'll have no choice, and not because of Philby.

Finn feels his thighs and calves burning, and wonders if his running time would become faster (than it already is) if they keep all of this up.

"Where are we?" he asks.

"A little over halfway, I'm thinking," Philby replies. The boys stop to rest, but when they look around, neither of them see any clues. Yet.

They enter a canyon with steep walls, and it grows darker the farther in they go. Finn chews on his lip, his green eyes darting around.

There's a short drop, then a scene with desert floor with cactuses and mining equipment. Massive stone walls rise all around them.

"Too cool!" Philby suddenly exclaims, lifting and dropping his glasses onto his nose and pointing. Finn has to squint to see what the redhead really is pointing at.

Wow, the letters! _T_, _P_, _N_. Each letter is engraved into a rock. Finn lifts up the glasses, then lets them drop back onto the bridge of his nose. Yup.

"Way to go! Okay, that's it," he says, not trying to hide how anxious he is to get out here.

"We're closer to the end than the start of the ride," Philby informs. "It's over this next rise. We'll get off the tracks there without being seen by the cameras."

"Okay. Let's just go." Finn's green eyes look pleadingly at the redhead, who scrunches his nose up at something. Something is wrong. Finn could feel it. Who is he kidding? Something is always wrong when they decide to do this!

They struggle up the roller coaster track, which is noticeably slippier than the other parts of the track.

"Almost there!" Philby calls from the top, encouraging Finn.

The next scene is Yellowstone Park; geysers spitting into the air, pools luminous greens and yellows that rival the color of Finn's eyes.

Is it him or is the ground shaking? Philby lightly places two slim fingers onto the rail, to see if yet another ride had turned itself on. He looks at the brunette, shaking his head.

"Maybe it's just an effect." Green eyes glance at the geysers. "You know: Yellowstone. Earthquakes and stuff like that." Philby's own chocolate eyes look at the nervous tick affecting Finn's right arm.

"I'd have read about that," he declares. "I don't think so."

Now the ground shakes furiously, making Finn jump slightly. He knew it!

A few yards down the track, the first touch of cold creeps up his legs.

"Philby!"

"Yeah, I feel it too," the redhead replies. How can he sound so calm?! Finn is going to have a nervous breakdown soon. His legs feel numb and it's starting to be a burden to walk. The brunette's throat is closing up in panic and he can barely talk, his voice coming out in a whisper.

"The only time we've felt this before―"

"Maleficent." Philby is straightforward with his reply.

His freezing legs are almost impossible to move and the cold is wrapping around his chest as they watch water from geysers turn to ice, then fall as snow. Finn knows that any longer, and they won't be going anywhere.

"Listen to that!" Philby's voice comes out as a wheeze, so Finn figures that cold had reached him too.

Something sounds like it's cracking apart, but it doesn't sound exactly like ice.

"We've got to hurry!" the redhead manages out.

"Hurry? I can barely move," a stiff Finn retorts back.

They manage to climb back up the small rise in the track to look back from where they'd come from. The cracking sound is disturbingly loud, and Finn moves a little closer to Philby, who is out of breath from climbing and ice.

"That's a T. rex," the redhead whispers hoarsely. "Forty feet long. Eighteen feet high. Fifty-eight teeth. Runs forty miles an hour."

The brunette gives Philby an irritated, sharp side glance. In return, he backs up slightly, grabbing onto Finn's upper arm.

Both watch in amazed horror as, one by one, the bones vibrate and break free from the rock. Staying all together. Forming one huge T. rex.

"Run!" Philby's voice comes back, his shout ringing through Finn's head.

The skeleton comes over the hill, and all the brunette can see is that all of its teeth are still intact.

"Keep running! Don't slow down!" he hears Philby yell. Finn isn't even scared anymore, just thoroughly annoyed with his cold, stiff legs slowing him down. He barely manages to scramble ahead.

_Clomp! Clomp! Clomp!_

Finn is behind Philby, which means that he's close to the charge. Great, he thinks, and it totally helps that I'm walking on popsicles. The ground shakes violently, causing to brunette to fall, but he soon catches hold and regains his balance.

The bony monstrosity is literally nipping at Finn's heels, and he's going to be eaten. He clears the next rocky peak, soon sliding down the last descending slope of the roller coaster. The track levels off, giving the T. rex an enormous advantage and the brunette narrowly misses getting his arm chomped off.

Adrenaline kicks in, Finn finding the speed he uses during five-hundred yard dashes as the track curves ahead.

"Help!" he cries out.

"Physics class!" Philby shouts back at him. "The track is _banked_."

"What do I care?" the brunette yelps, almost tripping over the track again.

The living pile of bones behind them stumbles and losses a few yards, while the boys hurry up the slight rise into the steep turn.

"The track is _banked_!" Philby repeats more forcefully.

Oh. Now Finn gets it. His chest constricts around his pounding heart as he stops just before the apex of the turn. The brunette faces the beast.

"Come and get it!" He waves his arms around. He has to time his move perfectly. He just _has_ to.

The T. rex charges.

Just as the skeleton's teeth are a foot away from his chest, Finn dives off the track.

This causes the beast to falter, lurch and tip to the its left when the track suddenly curves to the the right. Bones snap and the huge skeleton rolls, breaking the through the plywood of the scene's mountain backdrop, tumbling over the side.

Finn watches as it lands with a noisy explosion, snapped and broken bones sitting innocently in a pile. He looks up at Philby who helps him up the rail.

The brunette lets out a breath of relief, wide cat's eye-green meeting glittering chocolate-brown. The redhead breaks out into a grin.

"Wait till they see that on their cameras!"

* * *

><p>"No way!" Philby frowns at Maleficent. Both him and Maybeck stay rooted in their spots.<p>

"Silly, silly boy," she says, clapping her gloved hands together. Finn watches in alarm as Philby collapses to the ground, seemingly losing every bone in his body. His bright hair falls into his eyes.

"I'm giving you a very generous opportunity here. Terry knows better than to disobey, don't you, Terry?" Her lips curve up into a cruel smile.

Maybeck's lips move, but no sound comes out.

"I can add some pain, if you'd like," she offers, her narrowed eyes landing on Philby, who ceases to move.

"No!" Maybeck scowls at Maleficent, daring her, as he reaches for Philby.

"Go!" Finn yells. He feels a sharp pain in his chest seeing Philby's normally kind chocolate eyes look so broken as the redhead sits up. Maybeck frowns at the brunette.

"Go," he repeats quietly. Maleficent is getting impatient.

"Or do you prefer fire?" A fireball appears in her left hand, but she blows it out.

"Or wind?" The room swirls with a gale force, knocking Finn and Maybeck off their feet while Philby's hair gets majorly tousled. It doesn't even ruffle the robes of Jezebel or her mother.

"Want to play some more?" Maleficent sneers, lighting another fireball and rolling directly for Maybeck who shields himself with his arms. It explodes into a puff of black smoke before it reaches the dark-skinned boy.

Finn swiftly goes over to Philby, helping the redhead up. The brunette's lips accidentally brush against a lock of soft, red hair near Philby's ear as he whispers,

"Keep an image in your head. Focus on something. Protect your memory." He leans away, looking into wide chocolate eyes. He gives the taller a little shove. "Now, go!" he says louder.

Maybeck grips the redhead's arm. Philby shoots Finn a worried look before they hurry out of the room. The brunette exhales, spinning around to face Maleficent.

He grimaces at the delighted smile gracing dreadfully beautiful features.

* * *

><p>Finn looks out of the castle apartment. The park looks beautiful.<p>

Willa is the last to cross over, appearing with a cotton nightgown that flows to her ankles.

"My mom put me to bed. Nothing much I could do about it."

Finn looks around all his new friends: Charlene, Maybeck, Willa, and Philby. He likes every one of them, but each for a different reason. He unrolls the faded blueprints of the park.

All five of them, including Wayne, examine them, fascinated to see how the park had started out.

Wayne picks out a boring-looking, black pen from the selection of pens and pencils on the coffee table. It's fat and bulged. A very old fountain pen.

The older man puts on a pair of sunglasses, and passes out sunglasses to all the kids too, instructing them to put them on as well.

"Now," Wayne says, "we finally put the two together."

"How will we know if it's right?" Finn asks, brushing away chocolate locks that had fallen into his eye.

"Believe me," Wayne smiles kindly, "we'll know." He contemplates the pen, passing it to Finn, "This is for you, I think."

Finn carefully unscrews the cap, hooking the small lever with the tip of his finger. He looks up, looking at each of his friends, catching certain pair of glittering, chocolate eyes. The rest have expectant eyes filled with curiosity and excitement.

"Hold it up high," Wayne instructs.

Finn does as told and pulls on the lever. A single drop of dark ink splashes down onto the plans. Finn, Wayne and all the kids jump back.

The drop of ink settles, expanding and bleeding out into each and every faded line drawn onto the plans. It races from one to another, spreading faster and faster. Faint lines become solid and bold.

It truly is an amazing sight.

The detailed plans transform, one page after another. Some areas look familiar to Finn as he gazes at these stunning pieces of paper.

"Come look!" Wayne calls, now standing by the small window. He takes away the theatrical gel from the window.

The kids join him, squeezing together.

Below, the dark park fills with light, following the same pattern that the ink did. Light rushes up lanes and streets, jumping over benches and engorged trees, while attractions come alive. Starting at the outer edge, steadily rushing towards the castle.

It's absolutely brilliant.

Faster and faster the light travels through the park, brighter and brighter. It arrives at the castle from all directions, a brilliant white light racing up the walls.

The sky erupts with fireworks, throwing blazing color and light into the heavens, deafening explosions and blinding colors.

The local newspapers would probably report about that private party at the Magic Kingdom responsible for the most amazing show of fireworks the park had ever seen.

But Finn and the other DHIs would know differently.

With the sky still lit up with brilliant colors, Finn glances at Philby who is watching the beautiful show with a small smile on his features. The redhead senses his gaze, and directs that gentle smile in his direction.

"We did it," he mouths at Finn. The brunette likes how bright his red hair looks in the fireworks' light.

Wayne walks over to Finn and extends a hand of thanks. They shake hands firmly. The old man has a happy smile on his face, and Finn can't help but grin back.

All the kids cheer and form a huddle, and as they spin in celebration, Wayne picks up the black remote.

And pushes the button.


	2. Disney at Dawn

**Hey, guys! Wow ʕノ•ᴥ•ʔノ ︵ ┻━┻ . I feel so accomplished now. I finally finished the second book and am going to start the third soon—I took a look at the book, and it's pretty big щ(゜ロ゜щ) . So my next chapter won't be up in a while, just to give a head's up to you guys ┻┳|･ω･)ﾉ . Haha. ****- Makoto**

**Disclaimer**** : I DO NOT own Kingdom Keepers.**

**Warning**** : There are hints of boyxboy, even more so than last chapter. Finn and Philby are the main pairing. Please _don't_ read this story if _none_ of this suits your fancy****.**

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><p><em><strong>Disney at Dawn :<strong>_

"Welcome to DHI-day at Magic Kingdom!"

The sounds of applause rises above the lush jungle landscaping.

"Keep your smiles on," Maybeck says, looking at all of his friends with careful dark-chocolate eyes, "and hang tight." Finn smiles with amusement.

Or your grimaces.

Suddenly, the float lurches forward, causing all five kids to lose their balance and stumble into and over each other.

Finn catches Charlene and steadies her by the arm as she bumps into him. He winces, watching as Maybeck falls roughly onto his bottom, while Willa trips over his legs, catching herself before she can have the pleasure of faceplanting.

Philby's lower back smashes into the rail, causing him to almost fall out of the float. Thankfully, the redhead catches and regains his balance, thanks to his amazingly quick reflexes.

Finn walks over to the railing, almost laughing when seeing Jasmine and Aladdin slip ungracefully off their pillows.

Oh, there! One of the floats―the villains float―has been pulled out of the line and off to the side. Thanks to that, the Aladdin float, and the one carrying the DHIs, had to speed up to close the gap.

"What's with that?" Maybeck asks, frowning at all the Cast Members rushing around. "Broken down?"

"No," Philby answers, leaning over the railing slightly (making Finn nervous) to look at the pulled over float. "It's empty." The brunette looks around, spotting a Cast Member right next to their float.

"What happened?" Finn calls down to him. The man doesn't answer the green-eyed boy, mumbling to himself.

"He was right there a minute ago. I swear he was!" Finn leans back into the float, a frown evident on his boyish, somewhat handsome features.

He can tell that this isn't just an accident.

"That float should have Chernabog on it!" Philby shouts over the music to answer Finn's unanswered question. "Only he's not there." The redhead scrunches up his nose.

"Who's Chernabog?" Maybeck asks, a not-so-amused expression on his face.

"Only the most powerful villains Walt Disney created," is Philby's reassuring reply. Finn's right arm gets that nervous tick, and he covers it up by brushing neatly swept chocolate locks away from anxious green eyes.

"And he's missing? That can't be good." His strained voice is overpowered by the joyous music and the crush of applause.

* * *

><p>"I tried to tell a Cast Member about the balloon," Finn says, annoyed. "But he thought I was my DHI playing some kind of trick on him. I shook him, and he said, 'Amazing technology! That feels so real!' What a jerk!" His cheeks puff out slightly as he pouts. "I tried to point out the balloon, but with the clouds, you can't even see the string or wire or whatever."<p>

"We've got to get up there," Philby says, a small smile playing across his lips. It quickly disappears. "Maleficent or not."

"But what if Amanda was trying to _warn _us?" Charlene asks, ever the skeptical one. "Wouldn't that mean we might be walking into a trap?"

"She's got a point," Maybeck admits with a shrug.

Finn quickly organizes them: he and Philby will ascend Escher's Keep to the apartment; Maybeck and Willa would try to find Amanda and Jez while Charlene stood sentry on the path to Fantasyland, giving the redhead and brunette eyes on the castle from the outside.

The green-eyed boy feels his stomach twist, seeing Maybeck's dark worried eyes. Even worse; he wishes them luck.

Oh, but wait―that's not all!

"And if you guys don't show up?" Willa asks Finn, who feels his right arm starting to get that weird tick. He mentally thanks every god and goddess out there for Maybeck as he drags the dark-haired girl out the door and into the castle gift shop's storage room. This means that Finn doesn't have to come up with an encouraging reply, which is out of his reach at this point in time.

"You okay with this?" A flash of concern dances across Philby's warm chocolate eyes, and Finn finds himself staring into them.

It is a route that has to be memorized, and neither boy has attempted to climb it in several months.

"Let's do it," Finn says with a grin, revealing dimples. He feels better seeing the redhead smile back.

Philby steps aside, allowing the brunette to lead the way.

Both know that this is a huge risk.

"Do you remember the way?" the shorter boy asks, facing four doors, all in different colors. They made it past the first staircase, but that's the least of their problems. The redhead's eyes narrow slightly in thought.

"I want to say second from the right: blue. But it's your call," he says.

Turning the wrong door handle causes a trapdoor to open, so Philby stays off the platform in case Finn chooses incorrectly. The plan is to take turns until they get it right.

Finn tries the blue door, causing the floor to fall out from underneath him. He races down the slick slide, spinning in tight coils, before getting thrown out onto the floor, his hip hurting slightly as he heads back to the slanted stairs.

Philby tries the yellow door. The trapdoor opens beneath him. Nope. Apparently it's not the yellow door.

Green―for "go"―seems to simple, so the brunette tries the purple door as his next attempt, and it opens without incident.

"Purple," he calls to Philby, who is gingerly skipping steps as he makes his way up the slanted staircase.

Next is the invisible bridge to which Finn's green eyes get anxious as he takes tiny steps across, just barely sliding each running shoe forward. Philby takes the novel approach, crawling on his hands and knees, breathing onto what turns out to be glass, and then following the orbs of fog.

"It's a mirror," says Philby, who raises an eyebrow at Finn's extreme cautiousness, sitting back on his knees. There's an illusion trick―a second purple door―which seems like your next destination, projected onto the other end of the invisible bridge. The bridge actually veers right arriving at what looks like a solid wall, which isn't so solid.

The brunette and the redhead end up on a second small platform.

"I remember this part," Philby says. "This is where we go _down_ the stairs in order to go back up."

"Are you sure?" Finn's expression is skeptical. So the redhead waves his hand across the step four steps above this first step, punching his hand _through _the illusion.

"You two!" Finn startles at the low voice, while Philby gasps in surprise.

The brunette catches sight of an upside-down Cast Member. A Dapper Dan.

"Security," Finn whispers to Philby. The redhead gives him a deadpan look.

"You are not permitted in this area!" the man calls. "Come down at once."

How about..._no_.

They reach a third platform and duck behind a false wall with two windows.

"You think he'll come after us?" Philby asks softly. Finn notices he looks slightly scared by how the corners of his lips are turned down.

Thunder cracks high above them.

Finn gets that tick. "The weather balloon, the monkeys, Amanda and Jez showing up for the first time in forever. And personally, I don't trust _anyone_ dressed up like he's selling fried chicken. He could be anybody. That's an easy costume to fake."

"So we ignore him?"

Another crack of thunder. The storm sounds like it's getting closer.

"_Outrun _him," Finn corrects. Philby studies him closely, his chocolate eyes staring into his own green ones.

"When was the last time _any of this _made sense?" He hopes that the redhead won't detect that he, too, is scared out of his mind at the prospect that they could get into _huge_ trouble. And what lies ahead is probably extremely dangerous, and it was incredibly stupid of them to come up here in the first place. So he stands his ground.

Philby leans back, and Finn realizes how close they were. His cheeks heat up slightly. "You're right. If they toss us, so what? We go down fighting."

"Exactly." The brunette hopes that Philby won't notice his red cheeks in the dark as he peers around the edge of the wall.

"What do you see?"

The Dapper Dan is gone.

"I think he's coming after us."

* * *

><p>"What are you doing, Finn?" Philby gasps.<p>

Before him, Finn Whitman, the fourteen-year-old boy, transforms into a glowing version of himself with a slightly shorter haircut.

He is now his DHI hologram.

"Willa said she s-saw you do this." And maybe the brunette finds Philby's shyness…slightly endearing. "But I d-didn't believe her." His eyes are wide with awe, studying Finn.

"It's not very stable. I can't hold it for ever long," Finn says. "Go. Black tiles. Never two in a row. It's the left staircase when you reach the other side. There's the final invisible and then the black hole. I'll meet you there. Wait for me." Philby looks slightly hesitant for a second, worried being the main emotion, but takes off across the checkerboard floor, making sure the toes of his shoes land only on the black squares, and never two in the same horizontal row. The brunette is amazed at how agile the redhead is, despite him looking like a kid in _Riverdance_.

A few minutes is all Finn has―it's the longest he can hold his DHI state. It drains him quite a bit, so he'll need to use the time wisely.

He steps out of the way as he hears footsteps approaching. The man arrives at the platform. Finn hides behind him. The man is big, with thick, heavy legs and broad shoulders. He studies the checkerboard floor like a person trying to remember the code.

"White or black? Odds or evens?" Finn says, startling the man. He spins around, his face a knot of anger.

"You're not allowed here," he says in a deep, dry voice. Incredibly quickly for his size, he jumps toward Finn and swiping at him, his hands passing _right through _the DHI.

"One wrong step and you fall," the brunette says in a sing-songy voice, darting past the man and out onto the checkerboard floor. He concentrates on the idea of light―_pure light_.

"I'm a Cast Member," Finn says, trying to lure the man out into the checkerboard floor, "just like you."

"I don't care. You're not allowed up there," he says. By saying this he confirms that he knows about the penthouse. How would he know about their hiding place?

"I said you're not allowed up there," the man says.

"White or black?" Finn taunts, his DHI standing on one of each.

The pleasant warmth of the DHI turns to a slight chill, and Finn knows the internal light is giving way to flesh and blood.

He still has one last trick left.

"You won't talk your way out of this, son." The man steps onto a black tile. Then another. The brunette remains calm, knowing that one moment of panic could send him, literally, through the floor.

Finn knows his DHI is going to fade soon. If he wants to get rid of this guy, he's going to need to think a little faster.

But the Dapper Dan an even faster thinker. The brunette hasn't considered the fastest way to catch him is for him to fall _with _the man.

But as the man falls through the floor, Finn floats, his DHI hovering above. He quickly walks to the other side, feeling the familiar chill of humanity returning and he falls but not before grabbing onto the edge of the floor. He pulls himself up with ease, hooking a leg over the floor. The trapdoor snaps back into position.

Finn lets out a breath of relief, recrossing the tiled floor.

Middle staircase. Red door. He remembers this section well.

The brunette hears the Dapper Dan hit the bottom and, seconds later, the sound of him climbing the stairs again. Faster now. Ever more determined to apprehend Finn.

He steps into total darkness, a matter of extreme trust. Yet he almost screams, his fingers brushing against something warm and soft.

"There's no elevator," Philby's familiar accented voice says, and Finn is glad that he didn't scream. His face heats up slightly in embarrassment.

"What?"

"No elevator. It's not here."

"It has to be here," the brunette says, the heat in his face replaced by a furrowed brow.

"No such luck, Sherlock."

"But that means―"

"Somebody's up there," Philby finishes his sentence. "Already in the apartment. And what do you want to bet it's not Wayne?"

"There's got to be another way up," Finn says. "Fire stairs. Something for an emergency."

"In case you hadn't noticed," Philby's usually friendly voice has a hint of sarcasm, "it's pitch black. You don't happen to have a flashlight on you, I suppose?"

"Turn your back to me," the brunette says. He gathers every single bit and piece of strength he has left. Transforming into his DHI saps his energy, like, _a lot_. Ignoring his feeling exhausted, he closes his eyes and feels the pleasant warmth returning. Finn feels like he has sprinted through two miles, his knees weak and his head swooning. His breathing is labored.

"Oh, man! How cool is that?" Philby says. An undertone of worry lies underneath it; the redhead must hear the brunette's harsh wheezing. "Hold onto my shirt, lightning bug. I saw some stair over there."

Finn feels disoriented as he reaches for the taller boy. What he grasps onto definitely doesn't feel like the soft material of Philby's white collared button-up―it's warm and slim. Probably the redhead's wrist. If it is, the taller boy doesn't seem to mind as they continue to climb up a set of metal stairs.

The brunette lightly places his fingers on the cold rail, which doesn't feel as pleasant as Philby's warmth.

Soon, Finn's breathing isn't the only thing they hear―the Dapper Dan has caught up to them.

And he sounds incredibly close, much to both of the boy's dismay as they climb faster, Finn holding onto Philby's wrist in a death grip.

* * *

><p>Finn doesn't feel any better as both boys continue to climb up the spiral staircase in complete darkness. Philby winces slightly at the brunette's tight grip on his wrist, but doesn't object. Finn needs him, and it's the least he can do, especially since the boy gave them a lot of time―enough to not get caught, which is their primary worry.<p>

"What if it's all a trap?" the brunette rasps out. "An elaborate trap? What if this guy is supposed to drive us to the top of the castle? What if the weather balloon and lightning are intended for us? To _kill _us?"

Philby stops and Finn bumps into him, the gentle, subtle scent of laundry detergent invading his senses. The brunette finds it a pleasant scent to breathe in as he catches his breath. He feels the pulse of his heart in every part of his body.

The staircase vibrates, indicating that the man is coming after them. Coming towards them. Closer to them.

"But if that's the case, then this guy's suicidal," Philby says softly, "because he's right behind us."

"But if he's an Overtaker, how do we even know he's real?" Finn asks back, not noticing that his grip on the other's wrist is getting tighter.

"How do we know any of this is real?" the redhead quips. He doesn't say anything about the shorter's almost fatal grip. Finn may be petite, but his image deceives his _real _strength.

"Not one of us has ever told our parents about what happens to us at night. Why do you think that is?" Philby answers his own question. "Because they wouldn't believe it."

Shadows flicker on the wall. A flashlight. _The guy!_

"Climb!" Finn hisses.

The boys climb higher, running up the stairs as fast as they (Philby) could. Thanks to the redhead's agility (and Finn's acquiring of energy), and the guy's not-so-agile self, they are able to put a bit of a gap between him and themselves.

Finally, they reach a door. It's bolted shut; there's no doorknob or handle.

In the dim light, Finn catches sight of a handwritten sign taped to the wall.

OPEN ONLY IN EMERGENCY

Well, technically, this _is _an emergency.

"Do we dare?" Finn asks.

"It has to lead to the apartment," says the redhead.

"Agreed." The brunette realizes that he still is holding onto Philby like a lifeline, and pulls away quickly, moving the bolt. The door pops open.

Together, both boys enter yet another dark space. Finn feels around, careful to avoid Philby, and...what is that sound? Bells? No...ah, _hangers_!

"We're in a closet," Finn says softly. "A closet inside the apartment, I'll bet."

"The stairs are the apartment's fire escape," the other boy says, but he sounds suspicious.

Finn knows that the redhead is thinking the same thing as he gropes around the dark, touching another door.

_Why would a fire escape be locked from the outside? _

He opens it up a crack, showing the apartment's small bedroom.

Both boys slip into the room, noticing how warm it is. The air smells musty and stale.

Heavy footsteps clomp up the stairs.

"Hurry!" Finn hisses. Philby shuts the door behind himself, going over to help Finn. Working together, the brunette and redhead slide the bed to block it.

Finn puts his ear to the bedroom door as Philby glances around the room nervously.

"Anything?"

"It sounds like someone mumbling." The shorter boy opens the door, walking quietly down the small hallway that connects to a living room. He angles his head into the room, gasping softly.

Maleficent!

What is _she_ doing here? Casting a spell, no less. _That_ was the mumbling Finn had heard.

"Stop!" he shouts, stepping out into the open. She spins around.

"YOU!" Maleficent's bloodshot eyes narrow, looking straight into his own cat's eye-green.

Loud thunder bangs with the fireworks, making a war zone out of the sky. A fiery backdrop plays out behind the green-skinned...woman-creature. Maleficent glances behind herself, then gives Finn a look before climbing outside.

The bruentte and Philby walk over and look out the window.

Maleficent is like an insect. Finn shivers at the thought, not exactly the world's biggest insect-lover.

"I'm not going out there!" the brunette says. Philby gives him a strange look. He wasn't and isn't about to suggest that they jump out the window.

"The stairs seem more practical, don't you think?" Finn shrugs.

"I don't know, does any of this seem practical?"

"We've already covered that," the redhead says, hurrying back to the bedroom with the other boy following.

She is cooling off with every second.

The Dapper Dan is pounding on the closet door from the other side.

"Ready?" Finn looks at Philby, his hands gripping the bed frame.

"When am I not?"

"One...two…"

"Three!" Both boys shove the bed out of the way, causing the Dapper Dan, who was shoving hard on the door, to tumble ungracefully, face first, onto the carpet. Finn and Philby quickly duck into the closet, and once out of the emergency exit, the redhead throws the bolt. They trapped him inside.

The boys stop at the landing.

"Up or down?" Finn asks. He studies Philby as the chocolate-eyed boy looks down the stairs, then at the brunette.

"Well...up! Now let's go!" he urges. Finn is thankful for being on the track and field team at his school as he climbs the stairs at the pace of a hundred-meter dash. Which is _fast_. Philby seems to be keeping up.

As they near the top, the sound of the crowd grows louder. The stairs end in a small stone chamber with an open window.

Finn's eyes adjust in a matter of seconds, and he spots a young woman with wings tied up in a corner.

Tinker Bell, he realizes.

Maleficent stands in the open window, her robe fluttering, the fireworks flashing colors in the sky beyond her. There's a metal wire secured to the wall.

"Silly boys!" Maleficent's voice grates on Finn's already jumbled nerves. "The end is near."

She jumps.

Finn runs to the window, amazingly not tired from all the flights of stairs.

She had flew off! _She could fly!_

The brunette gives Philby, who is now standing next to him and looking out the window as well, a horrified look. The redhead winces slightly, hearing Maleficent let out a bloodcurdling screech as she rides the wire high in the sky.

The crowd seems to enjoy the "show". Finn jumps slightly. The rippling of thunder echoing off the Florida landscape is like the aftereffect of a bomb.

* * *

><p>It sounds like dozens of footsteps are hurrying up the spiral staircase as Finn reaches to untie the woman dressed up as Tinker Bell. He gently pulls the tape off her mouth.<p>

"Are you okay, miss?"

"Who…" she looks absolutely terrified, "_what_...was that?" Philby gives Finn an anxious look.

The approaching footsteps are getting closer and closer.

It doesn't matter _who_ it is. Either way, disaster is written all over it. Especially for Finn and Philby.

"Who's coming?" the Tinker Bell woman asks. Finn shrugs, obviously tense.

"We don't know."

"I'm not sticking around to find out," she says. Philby leans against the wall, right next to the window, looking at the harnesses on the opposite wall. The woman notices.

"Harnesses," she says, pointing to the wall. "They're rescue harnesses, in case I get stuck out there." She grabs one. "Put them on!"

She helps both boys into the harnesses and double-checks them for safety. "Have you ever ridden a zip line?"

Finn shakes his head.

"In camp once," Philby says.

"Same thing," she says. "I'm going to go first." She clips a pulley to the guy wire. "That way I can catch you two as you arrive on the other end. Ready?"

It's obvious that whoever is coming up the spiral stairs is moving fast. She gives both of them an encouraging smile.

"I'll see you down there, okay?" she says. With that, she jumps. Finn sighs, turning towards Philby.

"I'm praying that every god and goddess out there makes sure I don't die." The redhead rolls his eyes.

"You're being such a drama queen." The brunette smiles nervously.

"Sorry."

"C'mon now," Philby says, his voice gentle. "You'll be fine. Here, I'll you this." He leans in slightly, his lips close to the brunette's ear. "The thing will probably hold a tank. This is Disney, remember?" Finn's face heats up slightly.

"Fine."

"My advice? Don't have any because there's nothing you need to worry about," Philby says, testing the pulley. He smiles, giving Finn a push.

A blistering wind is in his face, and the brunette admits that this one of the coolest things he's ever done. He zooms down the wire, high above the grass and the water, headed for the lights of Tomorrowland.

Finn could hear that Philby is behind him, which gives him a sense of comfort. Soon they slow, the wire leveling out.

Tinker Bell catches both boys at the far end, in front of a set of pads. She unhooks the pulleys and helps the brunette and redhead out of their harnesses.

Once Finn is out of his harness, and he straightens out his blue v-neck, he turns around to see several men huddling in the tower they'd just left.

"Nice timing, huh," Finn says, looking at Philby who is brushing auburn locks out of his eyes. Seeing how far they had traveled, makes his knees go weak. "That was not a smart thing to do." Philby, now done with tidying up his hair, giggles slightly.

"But man, that was fun!" Finn smiles at the uncharacteristic sound coming from the redhead.

Tinker Bell leads them down a very steep metal staircase and into an alley. She shows them how to re-enter the park.

"FINN!" Finn jumps slightly at the shouting of his name, while Philby looks around with his hands on his hips. The redhead spots two figures up ahead near the castle: girls.

"It's Willa and Charlene," the brunette says. Philby gives him an inquiring look.

"Trust me. It's them." So the redhead trusts him, and they run towards the girls. The boys circle carefully and hide on the other side of a stone wall, waiting. Finn squats down to hide himself a little better (it makes him seem smaller than he already is), while Philby presses himself against the wall, running his rough fingertips dazedly along the gritty material of it.

Cast Members, the brunette took to be security guards, are searching the crowd.

"They're looking for us," he tells the redhead next to him. "Might be Overtakers. Might just be Disney Security."

"We'll get across the Hub and catch up to the girls," Philby reassures. "We're just two kids now among all the others." Finn tugs at the redhead's short-sleeved dress shirt, his aid in standing up.

Philby is right: the rain has stopped and the crowd has returned. An announcement is repeated several times, apologizing for the fact that the Park would close early due to the weather.

Finn nods in agreement, absentmindedly taking Philby's right hand (the one with the bruised wrist) as the brunette leads them across the busy Hub outside of the castle. As they reach its center a number of lights come back on, and the look and feel of the castle is restored. Some firemen are packing up.

Charlene and Willa are looking down on them with terrified expressions. Finn glances at Philby, who glances back.

Something is up.

* * *

><p>Finn follows Philby inside to a reception area, where a well-organized desk holds a telephone and computer. The few lights that have been left on cast murky shadows and offer a dimly lit corridor running in both directions off this front room. There are two signs, each with an arrow: one reads MAINTENANCE and points left; the other read ANIMATION TRAINING LAB and points right.<p>

"Cool," Philby says, glancing at Finn then turning right. "I've got to see this."

Since this is an animation lab, of course there are pieces of human torsos, heads, hands, and legs in every stage of creation. These pieces are painted faces dressed in costumes that seem so real that Philby spins around in circles, obviously wary that one or more of them might decide to come alive. Finn also keeps an extremely close eye on all of them.

All in all, practically every body or animal part you see in Disney World is in this room. It's amazing yet creepy at the same time.

"Whoa…" Philby breathes out, taking a look around. Both boys speak in whispers, as if the "body" parts might want to join in on their conversation.

"Somehow I don't think we'll find a copier in here," Finn says, Jez's journal wrapped in his arms and pressed close to his chest.

"Oh, I bet you're wrong. Give me a minute, mate." Philby walks along the lines of workbenches. Finn smiles at how cute the other boy's accent is.

"Wow, look at that," the redhead mutters under his breath. He looks at Finn. "Articulated, motor-controlled limb movement—very cutting edge."

"What about a copier?" Finn reminds, despite being amused at how Philby looks like a child in a candy shop.

"Ah," his lightly-tanned cheeks flush slightly, "right. Sorry." His embarrassed expression turns to one of awe. "I could stay here for hours." Philby smiles slightly, walking over to the far end of the room.

"Hey, check it out," the chocolate-eyed boy says, approaching an area somewhat cautiously and with great respect. "Remember this?" he asks, his eyes having a certain sparkle to them.

"I do," Finn replies. Besides, if it weren't for "this", he wouldn't have met Maybeck, Charlene, Willa or Philby.

The three walls at the end of the room are covered in jungle-green paper, as is the floor. There are stage lights and tripods and camera and a dozen computers on rolling stands.

He and the other DHI kids, upon acceptance by Disney, had been computer-modeled by Disney Imagineers. Their movements were recorded to create the DHIs. The empty cages off to their left suggests the obvious.

"Animals," Philby says, leaning down to examine something. "They motion-modeled animals here to create DHIs."

"Wayne told me they were doing that," Finn says, observing the area around the redhead. "Animal hosts." The cameras are set low to the ground. He steps next to Philby, who is kneeling down to look at something—paw prints, Finn realizes.

Philby stands up carefully not wanting to collide his head with Finn's chin—the brunette is leaning over—as he stands up. Finn straightens up.

"Oh, there we are." The taller boy walks over to a flatbed scanner hooked up to a computer. Finn touches the computer's space bar and the machine wakes up. He hands Philby Jez's diary, and the redhead lies the book on the scanner bed, beginning to scan the pages. As he prints them out, Finn receives a text from Amanda, who is standing guard outside.

"Visitors!" Finn whispers to Philby, who quickly takes the diary off the scanner.

"We can hide," Philby says lowly as the brunette takes the printouts and Jez's diary that is offered to him. He places the papers inside the book, and both boys jump into the junk pile next to the scanner, worming their way down into the parts so that only their shoulders and faces showed. The boys blend in with the robotic human parts around them. Finn's anxious green eyes meet Philby's calm chocolate.

Two men enter the room, not bothered by the fact that the lights are on, courtesy of Philby. One is thin, while the other is on the bigger side.

"You know what?" the thin man says, looking right at Finn's seemingly lifeless eyes, then to Philby, whose bright locks brushed against his long eyelashes in an uncomfortable way. He notices how the texture of the chocolate-eyed boy's hair looks so...realistic. "This place gives me the creeps sometimes. Some of these things look so real...I gotta tell you."

"Found it!" the bigger man says. He holds up a box with a lot of wires running out of it. "I knew the guys had borrowed it."

He tucks the box under his arm as he and the other man walk to the door. The thin man stops, his hand a centimeter away from the light switch.

"Hey," he says, "did you turn on the lights when we came in? Because I didn't."

"I don't think I did."

Finn holds his breath.

"Well," says the big man. He switches off the lights.

* * *

><p>"You're a better liar than I am," Finn tells Maybeck. "I have my quirks."<p>

"Is that supposed to be a compliment?"

"Charming." Finn gives a sarcastic smile. "I meant to say you're more charming than I am. You're better with the ladies." He feels slightly embarrassed about saying that—not because he cares about "charming" a girl, but because he knows that he'd rather charm the opposite.

"That goes without saying," Maybeck says, and Finn just rolls his eyes.

"There's a room being cleaned, back toward the elevator."

"I passed it," Maybeck confirms.

"I think you left your family's Park Hoppers in the room, and your father's in here asleep with a headache, which explains the 'do not disturb' sign."

"I think you're brilliant." Finn just gives a quick smile.

"Can you pull it off?"

"This is me we're talking about!"

"Exactly. Same question."

"Well, you'll need to get yourself gone," Maybeck says with a huff.

"I'll hang out at the next set of windows, 'kay?"

"I'll text you once I'm inside."

—_Disney at Dawn_—

Less than five minutes later, Finn receives the text message. He walks back to the room, knocking softly on the door.

Maybeck opens the door and Finn steps inside, closing the door behind himself.

The room holds a big bed and a pair of bunks. Philby is drooling slightly onto a pillow of the big bed—a king-sized bed—and he's hugging another pillow, his arms and legs wrapped around it loosely. Finn can't help but think about how vulnerable the redhead looks and is, physically, right now.

Willa sleeps peacefully on the lower bunk.

Finn goes over to Philby, who has his back to the brunette, shaking him slightly with a hand on the taller boy's upper arm. Philby's breathing stays even and soft, and he doesn't move, staying completely limp. Maybeck shakes Willa as well, but to no avail.

Both Philby and Willa are in a perma-sleep, that is, until they get their DHIs back.

Maybeck yawns, causing Finn to yawn as well.

"Don't get me tired, or we'll end up like them," he says, scowling at the other boy.

"A nap wouldn't hurt," Maybeck says, eyeing the bunk. "We could take turns. Ten minutes."

"Do _not_ go there," Finn hisses, extremely annoyed—the result of his fatigue. "Once we hit the sack, we'll never get up." His hand is still on Philby's upper arm, and he accidentally, once again, proves his strength (especially when tired) by leaving a newly formed bruise. Oops. Finn removes his hand quickly.

Philby will probably not be happy to have, yet, another bruise forming because of Finn and his uncontrolled strength. Although, the redhead didn't and doesn't seem to mind his purple wrist.

The brunette just sighs, exhausted. Oh well. He'll apologize to Philby later.

* * *

><p>The Kingdom Keepers go into Wayne's abandoned apartment above the firehouse when they arrive at the park, in their DHI forms.<p>

All five kids search over an hour for the Stonecutter's Quill, but end up empty-handed. If Wayne had hidden it, he'd hidden it well.

"What now?" Charlene asks. Finn frowns.

"Is there any choice?" he asks.

"We can't exactly win his release without that pen," Philby says.

"We'll think of something," Finn reassures.

"Or maybe Jez will dream it," says Charlene, "and give us more clues to follow."

"The point is, we did save Jez, and we pretty much saved the Animal Kingdom from being overrun by DHIs. We can't be giving DHIs a bad name, after all," Finn points out.

All the kids laugh. Finn glances over (as the other kids chat with each other) at Philby who has his polo shirt sleeve rolled up to his shoulder, checking out the latest bruise from the brunette. The redhead notices the other boy's green gaze on him, looking up at him with a raised eyebrow.

'_Did you do this?'_ Finn smiles sheepishly.

'_Sorry,'_ he mouths back in reply to Philby's telepathic question. To his surprise, the redhead just shrugs, pulling his sleeve back down.

All five kids discuss Wayne. They need to find him, and soon. Period.

"Tell us what to do," Willa says.

All eyes fall on Finn, although Philby's eyes having a knowing look. Does the redhead know about his "leadership" role?

The brunette smiles, a warmth filling him and making his DHI flow even brighter.

Wayne would've been proud.

"We'll meet after school. We've got to find Wayne."

He raises his right hand. In it is the black remote with the small button at its center.

"Ready?" he asks.

The others nod.

He pushes the button.


End file.
